Medina hospital wants to educate community about importance of ‘stop the bleed’
Photo by Tom Rivers: Mackenzie Smith, Emergency Room director and stroke coordinator at Medina Memorial Hospital, is shown with teaching tools to help tie a tourniquet and stuff a wound.
MEDINA – The first 5 minutes when someone has started massive bleeding are absolutely critical – stopping that bleeding can be the difference between life and death.
Medina Memorial Hospital has joined a national awareness campaign about “Stop the Bleed.” The effort was launched by the White House in October 2015. The national effort wants to train bystanders to be more equipped and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.
Bystanders could find themselves the first on the scene of critical injuries at car accidents or a shooting. There are numerous other possibilities: a neighbor injured by a chainsaw or by a hedge trimmer, or someone who slips on ice, or a child injured at a youth sporting event.
Mackenzie Smith, the Emergency Room director at Medina Memorial Hospital and stroke coordinator, is leading the “Stop the Bleed” program for Medina. She is willing to meet with residents and community groups in a one-hour training.
Three actions that could save a life include:
• Apply pressure with hands.
• Apply dressing and press.
• Apply tourniquets if the bleeding doesn’t stop. The tourniquet may be applied and secured over clothing. If the bleeding doesn’t stop, place a second tourniquet closer to the torso from the first tourniquet. (A belt could be used as a tourniquet.)
“It can happen so quickly and so innocently,” Smith said about the incidents. “We need to be prepared.”
To contact Smith, call the hospital at (585) 798-2000.
For more information about “Stop the Bleed,” click here.
